TÜV SÜD Rail GmbH, an international service corporation focusing on consulting, testing, certification and training, assessed the VectorCAST tools for dynamic testing with respect to functional safety. The TÜV SÜD assessment and resulting tool qualification of the Vector Software products, offer safety related development organizations the required evidence to demonstrate compliance with IEC 61508 and ISO 26262.

The VectorCAST family of products is a set of co-operating tools for test automation in the development of embedded software applications. VectorCAST/C++, VectorCAST/Cover, and VectorCAST/Manage supports automated test execution for unit- and integration testing, test coverage analysis, and the management of test projects.

“We are pleased that VectorCAST is now a TÜV SÜD certified product, said William McCaffrey, Chief Operating Officer at Vector Software, Inc. “This TÜV SÜD certification reinforces the quality and reliability of our products as we continue to invest in supporting the safety standards that are being used by our customers.“

IEC-61508 is the international standard developed by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) governing functional safety of programmable electronic systems commonly used by regulatory bodies for safety certification of industrial control, automation and automotive systems.

ISO 26262 is a Functional Safety standard, titled "Road vehicles -- Functional safety". The standard is an adaptation of the Functional Safety standard IEC 61508 for Automotive Electric/Electronic Systems. Part 6 of this standard addresses the recommendations for software testing and verification as part of the standard for software development.